Gossip
by M. the Inspector
Summary: Another talk takes place behind Jack's back. This time, it's between Will and Elizabeth, and Will is jealous. R/R!
1. Default Chapter

Takes place sometime after Tortuga, between picking up the crew and catching up to the Pearl.  Jack's at the wheel and Will, as usual, is sitting around staring at him….

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            "Give it a try, boy."

            Startled out of his reverie, Will glanced up to see Gibbs hovering over him with an encouraging smile.  "What?"

            "Try it," the pirate repeated.  "Might as well.  Rumor is that Jack…um…will sail under either flag, if ya know what I mean…"

            For a moment Will stared blankly, but he was not quite naïve enough to misunderstand for long.  "_What_?" he demanded, trying to keep his voice low.  "No – you're wrong – the idea never crossed my mind, not once."

            "Come off it, boy, we all see the way you look at him."  Gibbs chuckled.  "And the way he's always teasin' ya."

            Shocked by the idea that the crew believed him in love with their captain, Will couldn't form an articulate protest at first.  "No, I don't – I mean, it's not…stop looking at me!  I don't think about Jack that way – not at _all_ – and I didn't know he… I had no idea," he sputtered.

            "Well, well, well," said a voice from behind them.  Will and Gibbs both whirled around, mouths open, and wondered what on earth to say to Jack now.  "So _there's the reason my ears were burning."_

            Will scrambled to his feet.  "Jack, listen.  I swear, there's nothing to any of that, I don't know what he's-"

            "_William_."  Jack draped his arm around Will's shoulders with exaggerated familiarity, grinning when he saw how uncomfortable Will was getting.  "There's absolutely nothing wrong with falling for Captain Jack Sparrow.  Devilish good looks, an unimpeachable sense of h-"

            "_Stop it_."  Too embarrassed to care that Jack was only joking, Will broke loose and backed away, blushing furiously.  "You know that's ridiculous.  I love Elizabeth…"

            Jack closed the distance between them with one smooth step.  His eyes traveled slowly down Will's body and back up again.  "Just because I rarely tell the truth, mate," he purred, low and intimate, "doesn't mean I can't see it."

            And then he smiled brightly and the creepy moment was broken.  Will watched him flounce away, wondering what the hell he had meant, until a quiet laugh drew his attention to the Gibbs, who (damn him) hadn't yet gone away.

            "Yer still lookin' at him."

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I know I still have trouble writing piratespeak, but I'm working on it.  Please review!  Tell me what you thought of this.


	2. ch2

Will managed to control his curiosity for four hours after the wedding. Four hours was a long time – they had talked over thousands of subjects, eaten together, spoken to guests, and tried for the thousandth time to ease the governor's disapproval of the match.

But at last he could contain himself no longer. _It's not my fault_, he told himself. Her mood light and almost nostalgic, Elizabeth had just said, "I almost wish we could have invited Jack, don't you?" And that was too much for Will to bear.

"Elizabeth," he began seriously, after a half-hearted attempt to return her smile, "There's something I have been wanting to ask you."

"To ask me? Will, you look so nervous," she laughed, cheeks growing a bit pink. "_Whatever_ you want to ask me…we are man and wife now, so it's all right."

"Whatever I…" he echoed. "Oh! Oh, no, not that, not right now. I was just wondering," he began again, then took a deep breath. "You know I would not believe ill of you in a thousand years. It's never _you_ I would mistrust. But Elizabeth, when you were trapped on that island… I just want to know that Jack didn't…I mean, if he so much as _looked_ at you in a way you didn't like, I will _hunt him down_." The idea made him so angry that his voice was shaking. 

"No, no, you don't need to hunt him down," Elizabeth assured him, trying vainly to suppress a giggle as she remembered that night. If Will had only seen…! "I assure you I quite liked the way Jack looked at me."

She gasped, obviously not having meant to say that aloud.

Will stared at her. "I…I don't know what to say," he whispered after a terribly long silence.

That crushed look was so endearing on him that Elizabeth couldn't even resent his unspoken accusation. "Will Turner, I do believe you are jealous," she teased.

"Should I not be?" he demanded, not finding the situation the least bit humorous. "I mean, when I first found out I didn't ask because it wasn't my place, but now…I'll _kill_ him."

"Calm down," she soothed, trying for his sake to look serious. Just the _thought_ of that romp around the campfire was amusing her, but she knew Will wouldn't take kindly to laughter right now. "I wasn't quite intoxicated enough to have forgotten it, unfortunately. I can tell you I behaved like a perfect fool and taught Jack a pirate song. That's all." She met his eyes and added firmly, "But I also do remember that Jack Sparrow is a gentleman, despite all appearances to the contrary, and that he did nothing more improper than talk like a drunken pirate."

She had intended her words to be reassuring, but Will's face fell. If that was the truth he couldn't be angry at either of them, and yet, the way she spoke up so pluckily in Jack's defense made him want to cry. "You really like him, don't you."

"You _are_ jealous," she answered haughtily, annoyed that her explanation had not been enough. "And I don't appreciate it."

He couldn't lie. "Maybe a little. But Elizabeth," he added quickly, "You just said you like him. And you did always try to stop people from hanging him." Realizing what a pathetic line of reasoning that was, he tried again. "I mean, he _draws_ people in. Even when I was trying to kill him I felt the pull. He's saved your life time and again, he's held you…. He cut your corset right off-"

"Oh, Will, don't be silly!" she exclaimed, flushing despite herself. "That was nothing but a way to get me breathing. It had nothing to do with…with _sex_." Elizabeth was a gentlewoman, not accustomed to such bold speech, and the word sat strangely in her mouth. She looked down.

"_Everything_ he does has to do with sex!" The sudden outburst surprised them both, but Will pushed on. "Jack _is_ sexuality. I think that is why I'm jealous. Not to mention that for a pirate he's quite handsome."

Elizabeth put a hand on his arm. "You're right," she said, with an unmistakably seductive smile. "Jack _is_ handsome. He's the second-handsomest pirate I've ever seen."

Will cocked his head at her but didn't dare speak, just in case he was misunderstanding. "And he told me once," she continued, "that a ship is more than a collection of wood – it's freedom. It gives you freedom. So maybe Jack _is_ sexuality. The sight of him, his voice, the way he touches me…he makes me want to…to do things that aren't very ladylike." She stood on tiptoe and put her lips close to Will's ear. "Only…not with _him_." She couldn't resist adding, with an impish little grin, "Savvy?"

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The End. (unless I think up more conversations people might have behind Jack's back.) This is fun. R/R, tell me what you think.


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